Vira moved forward, stopping beside Nima, took a bunch of wild berries she found and started popping them into her mouth. "Sela is right, they should have returned by now. Did something happen to them?"
Eiran shrugged, already crouching to check the roots for worms. "Maybe Tark followed them again. You know how he is — always being an annoyance."
"Don't speak of the Sunmane," Ressha snapped, her tone brisk but low. "He is always making our outings unbearable."
Vira nodded and echoed, "Yes, the bastard is always finding ways to make us unable to forage here anymore."
Miren walked toward them, his large form belying the fact that he had only come of age two years ago. "The bastard only knows how to use those shameful, underhanded methods!"
They all nodded, various sour expressions overtaking their faces as they thought of the countless ways Tark had troubled them during their foraging trips. He was also one of the reasons they couldn't travel too far from their established paths.
